A map shows the planned Biên Hòa - Vũng Tàu expressway project connecting Đồng Nai and Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu provinces. — Photo baotintuc.vn

BÀ RỊA-VŨNG TÀU — The Transport Ministry has asked Đồng Nai Province People’s Committee to speed up construction of the first component project of the Biên Hòa-Vũng Tàu Expressway project.

Earlier, the ministry had required the feasibility study report of the expressway project to be completed for approval by November last year. However, the first component project with a length of 16km and under the responsibility of the Đồng Nai Province People’s Committee has not been approved yet.

Therefore, the ministry has asked the province to direct investors and relevant agencies to urgently finish the feasibility study report and necessary legal procedures for consideration to initiate the next steps to ensure the required progress.

The other two component projects, under the charge of the ministry and Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province People’s Committee, have both had their plans approved.

The Biên Hòa-Vũng Tàu Expressway project will connect Biên Hòa City in Đồng Nai and Bà Rịa City in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province.

It will run parallel to National Highway No. 51 and cut through the HCM City-Long Thành-Dầu Giây expressway and Bến Lức-Long Thành expressway.

As a key national expressway project, the project is expected to ease traffic congestion on National Highway No. 51, and facilitate travel between Đồng Nai and Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu provinces and HCM City in the southern key economic zone.

The first phase of the expressway project will have a length of 53.7km, including a 34.2km section in Đồng Nai, with an estimated investment of VNĐ17.8 trillion (US$755.5 million).

It will be carried out under three component projects and is scheduled to be completed by 2025 and open to traffic in 2026.

The new expressway will have four to six lanes in the first phase and six to eight lanes in the second phase.

Construction on a 19.5km section of the expressway project passing through Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province is scheduled to start in June this year, according to the province’s Department of Transport.

National Highway No. 51 is becoming overcrowded, causing more and more serious traffic problems.

In recent years, increasing demand for travel with personal vehicles and freight transport has caused serious congestion on the highway, especially during rush hours on weekends and holidays.

The highway section through Đồng Nai now carries about 50,000 vehicles per day, up to four times the number of vehicles it was designed to accommodate, and the number of vehicles increases by about 10 per cent per year.

The number of serious traffic accidents, traffic-related deaths and injuries has also increased on this highway.

The Government has approved a number of special mechanisms and policies to speed up the implementation progress of key national expressway projects, including the Biên Hòa-Vũng Tàu Expressway.

Accordingly, the investment policy, appraisal and approval required for the entire project or component projects will be decided by the Minister of Transport and the head of the people’s committee where the project is located.

The Ministry of Transport and the people’s committees in relevant localities are tasked to simultaneously implement works related to compensation, resettlement support, identifying dumping sites for construction waste during the projects’ preparation period and cutting down the time to implement investment-related procedures. — VNS